Great mourning in the Catholic Church this December 31, 2022. The emeritus pope passed away Benedict XVI at the age of 95, after presenting health complications.
The alarms went off last Wednesday, after pope francisat the end of the General Audience, will ask the Catholics for a Special prayer for your predecessor.
Since then, the information provided by the Vatican indicated that the German theologian was lucid and stable. In fact, he had attended a Eucharist in his room yesterday.
However, the first report this Saturday gave an account of the death of the emeritus pope.
“It is with regret that I announce that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI passed away today at 9:34 a.m. in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery of the Vatican. As soon as possible, more information will be provided,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican Press Office.
(Keep reading: Did the resignation of Benedict XVI change the history of the Church?).
Little is known about the funeral of the pope emeritus, since it is a novelty in the modern Catholic Church. Benedict XVI was the first pontiff to step aside after six centuries.
At the moment, it has been known that the body of Benedict XVI will be exposed so that the faithful from all over the world can say goodbye.
“Starting Monday morning, January 2, 2023, the body of the pope emeritus will be in St. Peter’s Basilica so that the faithful can say goodbye,” Bruni said.
(Besides: This is how Benedict XVI prepared for the day of his death).
The Sala Stampa, the information service of the Holy See, confirmed that Benedict XVI received the Anointing of the Sick on Wednesday and that his funeral will take place on Thursday, January 5 in St. Peter’s Square, Rome.
More news:
Benedict XVI: this is how the world reacts to the death of the pope emeritus
The controversies of Benedict XVI, a conservative and questioned pope
Benedict XVI, a great theologian of the Catholic Church
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